DIFFERENTIAL TRUCK ACCIDENT RATES FOR MICHIGAN

Major changes in the trucking industry have resulted from federal legislation that relaxed the regulation of trucks in interstate commerce, allowed the use of double-trailer combinations nationwide on Interstate highways, and required states to regulate trailer length instead of overall length. Because Michigan has long had extremely liberal truck size and weight regulations, its experience with truck safety is of significant interest. A project by the University of Michigan and Michigan State University was undertaken to develop statistical information on accidents, travel, and the risk of accident involvement for Michigan-registered trucks in Michigan. The study objective was to calculate disaggregate truck accident rates by road class, day or night, and urban or rural operating conditions for tractors without trailers (bobtails) and in single- and double-trailer configurations. Major findings included the following: bobtails consistently have the highest accident rates; all-accident and casualty rates for single and double configurations are similar to one another; the most significant and consistent factor associated with truck accident rates was the roadway class (highest rates on the "local" road system, lowest on limited-access highways); urban accident rates were lower than rural rates; night rates were higher than day rates for casualty accidents but lower for all accidents; and tractor drivers aged 19-20 have an accident rate five times the average. The findings indicate that differences in truck safety by roadway class are more important than those between singles and doubles. Discussion and recommendations concerning improvements in truck accident and exposure data as well as further work on the relationship between truck accidents and geometry are included.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1991/1322/1322-008.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=DIFFERENTIAL+TRUCK+ACCIDENT+RATES+FOR+MICHIGAN&author=R.+Lyles&author=K.+Campbell&author=D.+Blower&author=P.+Stamatiadis&publication_year=1991
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1322, Large Vehicle Safety: Transit and Trucks 1991. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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• Authors:
  • Lyles, Richard W
  • Campbell, Kenneth L
  • Blower, Daniel F
  • Stamatiadis, Polichronis
• Publication Date: 1991

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 62-69
• Monograph Title: LARGE VEHICLE SAFETY: TRANSIT AND TRUCKS 1991
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1322
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Classification; Crash rates; Days; Disaggregate analysis; Drivers; Future; Highways; Night; Research; Rural areas; Tractor trailer combinations; Trailers; Trucks; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver age; Future research; Highway classification
• Geographic Terms: Michigan
• Old TRIS Terms: Bobtails; Double trailers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Motor Carriers; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I81: Accident Statistics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00622182
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309051622
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-041 372
• Files: HSL, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1996 12:00AM